Sen. Greg Brophy liked living in a hotel near the Capitol during the session. Someone made his bed every morning, and the cost was only $800 a month.

But when the hotel increased its rates to $1,500 a month, the Republican bought a 530-square-foot condo in Denver that’s smaller than his master bedroom back in Wray.

“We furnished our condo, I have office equipment that I’d never own otherwise, and I don’t have a great deal of use for suits and ties on the farm,” he said. “But for being in the legislature, I would have never purchased this stuff.”

Brophy is what is known as an “outlying” lawmaker because he lives more than 50 miles from the Capitol. That position wins him a front-row seat to the political brouhaha that has turned an effort to hike per-diem payments into a controversy that could have implications for the November election. Politicos already are discussing which lawmakers in swing districts supported the bill when it passed the House 34-28.

Outlying lawmakers are allowed to collect $150-a-day per diem during the 120-day session. The travel allowance is scheduled to increase to $183 a day next session, an increase that has become controversial in recent days, although it stems from legislation passed in 2007.

The increase will cost an additional $189,420 and is included in what normally is a routine bill that funds legislative operations, including attorneys and staff.

House Bill 1301 could be debated in the Senate as early as today.

A Denver Post review of legislative records shows that last year, 14 of the 41 outlying lawmakers charged for the full 120 days, collecting $18,000 on top of their $30,000-a-year salary. Brophy charged for 114 days, collecting $17,100.

Brophy said it was his choice to run for office, and he could always spend less or quit the job. But he pointed out that the per diem helps cover his expenses when he’s not in session.

Brophy said he regularly travels his vast 12-county district in the fall, meeting with county commissioners, school boards, city councils, business officials and others who want to talk to their state senator. His Eastern Plains district, the largest Senate district in the state, covers more than one-fifth of Colorado.

In addition to his Denver mortgage and utilities, he said he has food costs, mileage in the off-session, and phone and other expenses.

Only outlying lawmakers are scheduled to get the per-diem increase next year. Lawmakers who live within 50 miles of the Capitol will still be capped at $45 daily, for a maximum of $5,400, a rate that hasn’t risen since 1989.

Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, is one of a handful of metro lawmakers who don’t collect any per diem at all. She points out that because of budget problems, state employees haven’t gotten raises.

“It’s not going to change the budget,” she said of not collecting the travel allowance, “but it’s my statement that we need to do everything we can to help state employees unfreeze their salaries.”

Per-diem payments collected by lawmakers in 2011

The Colorado legislature in 2007 passed a bipartisan measure that tied daily — per diem — expense reimbursements for outlying lawmakers, those who live more than 50 miles from the Capitol, to 85 percent of the federal reimbursement rate for Denver. That travel allowance in 2008 went from $99 a day to $150 a day. The per diem would have changed every year, but lawmakers voted to delay changes because of budget concerns. The per diem is scheduled to increase to $183 a day next year, which some lawmakers oppose.

Lawmakers are allowed to charge for all 120 days of a session, including weekends, holidays, snow days and days lawmakers are excused. Here’s what the 41 outlying lawmakers charged during last year’s 120-day session:

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